1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the wide spread of image-taking apparatuses, such as digital cameras and cellular phones with a camera, in recent years, users can readily acquire digital image data. Even with the camera function of a cellular phone with a camera, the digital image data of about several million pixels can be taken; and with a compact digital camera, the digital image data of more than ten million pixels can be taken. Further, high-end single-lens reflex cameras, which have been used mainly in professional applications, are being widely used by ordinary users.
Along with the spread of such image-taking apparatuses, there are increasing occasions when digital image data are taken. For example, some of the users who have established their blogs take several ten or several hundred shots of digital image data per day. As understood from what has been described so far, the number of the digital image data to be taken is explosively increasing. On the other hand, the recording apparatuses with a large capacity in which a large amount of such digital image data can be recorded are also being widely used.
When a large amount of image data are stored in a recording apparatus, there can be the case where it takes a long time for a user to search for the desired image. Also, there can be the case where a user forgets what type of images have been recorded in the recording apparatus. As stated above, when the number of the image data stored in a recording apparatus is large, there is sometimes the case where it is difficult to manage the image data.